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BitTorrent has become essentially synonymous with illegal file sharing, but it’s merely a protocol that can be used for good or evil. BitTorrent Sync uses the BitTorrent protocol to increase privacy and make sharing files easier, which I think can easily be classified as “good.” Now BitTorrent Sync is getting more useful with the addition of NAS support. Netgear is the first company to announce an official BitTorrent Sync app, but BitTorrent says that’s just the start.

The technology backing this service is the same thing that allows people to pirate Game of Thrones in record numbers every week. Rather than saving your files in the cloud and shuffling that master record between connected devices, BitTorrent Sync stores files on all your authorized devices (or nodes) without the separate online repository. AES-encrypted bits are exchanged between nodes in a sort of personal p2p mesh network to keep everything up to date. You can also share specific folders with others, which gives them access to the data and gives you another node for improving synchronization of that folder.

Without a centralized server to manage your data, BitTorrent Sync offers essentially unlimited storage — it will sync as much data as you have storage space. Since your data is not stored on some server in a data center, it’s not under anyone else’s control. That’s great for the privacy-minded since there’s no one looking over your shoulder, but the main drawback is that at least one copy of your data has to be online at all times to be accessible. So if a desktop PC is where all the files are, you need to have it on and connected 24/7.

Support for NAS devices makes BitTorrent Sync much more appealing because you don’t need to worry about having a computer online all the time. A NAS is designed to run continuously, so it works more like one of those cloud storage services, but it’s your cloud. Netgear is the first NAS maker that is supporting BitTorrent Sync on all its devices running OS version 6 or higher. You can grab the BitTorrent Sync app from the ReadyNAS Add-on page to get started.

As long as a few of your nodes have speedy connections, BitTorrent Sync can be crazy-fast. The company claims an upper limit on sync speeds over 100MB/s with a robust array of nodes. Of course, if you’re just relying on a single home broadband connection, your speeds when syncing files to the outside world will be much slower.

If you’ve got a compatible NAS, there’s no reason not to at least check out BitTorrent Sync. It’s free and makes your entire hard drive available remotely. Cloud storage services like Dropbox and Drive are probably still more practical for those without NAS boxes and mega-fast connections, but BitTorrent might be good for sharing big files once in a while.

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